P.S.: Post Script

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Arts, Blog, Blogger, Blogging, English Language, ESL, last post, Linguistics, Reasons to blog, TEFL, Uni, University, Wordpress, Writing

It was pointed out to me today that it has been a long long long long long long time since I posted here.

Apologies, readers. My sincerest apologies.

Having gone through my comments and replied to them (sorry about the wait!), I’m leaving a post script, before – unfortunately – signing off.

I have loved this blog. I have loved reading up on topics, writing posts, getting involved in others’ blogs, reading the comments people wrote and replying to them.

However, I’m a geek with many a geeky project, and other things were a priority.

Since my last post – nearly 14 months ago – I have:

• Written a dissertation in courtroom discourse in the Leveson Inquiry. This was mostly about how the language used in the hearings of the Leveson Inquiry changed according to the witness. It’s ridiculously long, and meant I essentially lived in the library, but it was interesting to write. I emailed a copy to Alistair Campbell (because you might as well go full geek) – if you want a read too, drop me a line and I’ll send you a copy!
• Graduated! I got a first class degree in English Literature and Language, and I’m chuffed to bits about it.
• Been travelling. I went to Berlin, New York, Chicago and San Francisco before heading back to Scotland, very jetlagged. It was wonderful fun, and just what I needed after so many hours in the library.
• Presented at a conference and written a paper. I went to GayCon 2014 in Edinburgh, where I presented on the linguistics of sexual health. I looked at how the language used in sexual health publications changes according to the intended audience demographic. I got some really interesting results! It went down well, and I made a number of contacts at the conference. I also turned the presentation into a paper, so if you fancy a titillating read, just ask!
• Completed a TEFL course. I love language. I love inspiring other people to love language. I love working with young people. I love travelling. TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) seemed perfect for me!
• Got a job teaching English in Taiwan – I leave in ten days to work in Taiwan for a year. Looking forward to it, and there’s a chance I’ll start a new blog when I get over there, to share my experiences and pictures on

So, all in all, it’s been a good year! Busy, but fun.

I’m sad to officially say ‘goodbye’ to this blog, but I think it has to be done. Thank you to everyone who read, commented, shared and argued with my posts – it wouldn’t have been the same without you.

Over and out.

On Diary Writing

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Arts, Diary, Journals

This is a Texty Tuesdays post, looking at different types of text from the printed word to blogs to things you scribble when you’re bored.

I’m in the lucky position of having kept a journal/diary (the difference is technical, and, let’s face it, arbitrary) since I was about 13. It’s become part of my daily routine, writing a short page about my day, and if I ever neglect to write in my diary for any reason, I have difficulty sleeping.

Review: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (or In Defence of Victorian Literature)

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Arts, Book review, Books, Brontë, Brontë family, Emily Brontë, Emma, Heathcliff, Jane Austen, Literature, Reading, Wuthering Heights

This is a Fictional Friday post, where I review a book (but it might not always be fiction)

I will openly admit that I used to be one of those people who only read Victorian literature because I was made to.

This is because I found it dull.

Being an avid Virginia Woolf fan/addict, I much prefer the changes brought in by her and other Modernist writers.

However, this doesn’t mean I’m not glad I was forced to read Brontë and Austen and Dickens in school.

Review: The Accidental by Ali Smith

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Accidental, Ali Smith, Arts, Book review, Books, Fiction, Review, Virginia Woolf

This is a Fictional Friday post, where I review a book (but it might not always be fiction)

I don’t get much time to read for pleasure. I mean, I enjoy reading whether or not I’m doing it for pleasure, but I don’t often get a chance to find a book I really want to read and read it, without underlining themes and significant passages all the time.

Cover of The Accidental

I’ve had Ali Smith‘s The Accidental for over a year, and have wanted to read it much longer than this. I had already read Hotel World and Girl Meets Boy, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Finally, I have a summer with a bit of time and no set reads (yet), so I set about reading it.